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February 18

The ABC's Of Understanding Today's Smart TV Acronyms And Tech Terms

Given the evolution of today's modern technology, smart tech is everywhere nowadays everything from our phones to our homes even television sets are more intelligent. While everyone knows HD means high-definition, but what about all those other acronyms and technological terms being tossed around today? What's HD10 ... PS and BTW (more acronyms) it's simply a branded concept used by the internet sales giant Amazon to sell their own version of these high-def devices.

As we've watched our smartphones and other handheld devices evolve over time, when it comes to our televisions perhaps the biggest development has been the use of pixelated screens and the rise in the sales of flat-screen TVs over the last few decades. As tech sales continue to grow exponentially, consumers are often left in the dust deciphering all of the terms of what they mean in terms of the products we purchase.

What About 8K Today

Just before the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) held annually in Las Vegas during the month of January, the CTA (Consumer Technology Association) announced its predictions in the form of sales forecasting for the upcoming year. Vice President of Marketing, Steve Koenig from CTA had this to say about the emergence of these bigger, brighter, smarter 8K televisions:

"We've seen 8K in previous years, but now I expect every manufacturer will show 8K equipment, and there will be big announcements about plans to begin shipping 8K sets later in the year."

For the sake of this discussion and by definition, 8K technology found inside some of today's smart TV's refers to television sets whose screen resolution exceeds the prior standard. With a resolution of 8,000 pixels compared to half of that which was available previously in 4K models, it's an obvious upgrade. So let's take a moment to examine some other acronyms, what is meant when manufacturers are using these alphabetical tech terms and which are considered some of the best, those that are more affordable, etc.

LCD (liquid crystal display) and LED (light-emitting diode)

LED and LCD models are often seen as competing concepts in the viewing marketplace, but they're actually almost identical types of display technologies. Both use backlighting to the screen, but with an LCD model, liquid crystals rotate polarized light acting as a light that illuminates pixels simultaneously. The result reveals a brightness factor that is more uniform and images with relatively low contrast.

While LCD has become an outdated technology in today's TV marketplace, LED's are still selling strong much and are available in a number of different sizes and styles. They are generally classified in two different flat-screen types available in either those with the lighting arranged in clusters behind the panel (aka full-array local dimming) or along the sides (called edge or edge-lit). The latter is more commonplace and makes for a flatter screen.

Pros:

More affordable

Available in a variety of sizes

Bright and colorful screen images

Cons:

QLED and OLED are all the rage nowadays and similar to getting any other type of the newest technology available on the marketplace today, they're quite pricey. Similar to our previous comparison, both QLED and OLED use similar light-emitting diodes but in these cases, they create their own light sources so they're the slimmest of the slim when it comes to owning a flat-screen TV.

When consumers witness the picture quality of both QLED and OLED screens, they'll be hesitant to return to the old-school tech from LED and LCD devices. With unlimited contrast, viewers will see the whitest of whites and darkest blacks with crystal clear colors in all the ranges in between. Given this newer type of expensive and mostly untested tech over a given amount of time, we can't be sure of the durability of these units yet.

Pros:

Self-lit pixels used in the display

The slimmest TV screens available

Sharper dark images that are blur-free

Cons:

Now that we've become a little more tech-savvy about today's tech terms when it comes to today's televisions, make sure your current cable connection is also completely up to snuff using the best of today's technology. Check out some of these premium platforms and more affordable packages available from Buckeye Broadband. If you're getting the best in today's hottest TV tech, make sure you're also receiving the best money can buy when it comes to reception and quality of service from your provider.